Life Behind the Walls

Life Behind the Walls was conceived as an immersive spatial installation dedicated to North Korea, the mechanisms of totalitarian regimes, and the fragile boundary between image and reality. The project is rooted in the long-term work of Korean studies scholar and writer Nina Špitálníková, whose professional and literary practice has focused extensively on North Korea. She is the author of four books on the subject, as well as her latest children’s book Tota lítá, originally written for her son Malcolm, which explains the principles of totalitarianism through language accessible to children without diminishing the seriousness of the topic. Her direct experience of living in North Korea gives the project a rare proximity to a reality that remains largely inaccessible.